Nearly one in ten people are out of a job, according to the Department of Workforce Development, which stated that the unemployment rate in Wisconsin hit 9.4 percent in March, from 8.8 percent in February. This is higher than the national unemployment rate, which reached 9 percent in March. These are obviously very dire economic times for both Wisconsin and the entire nation, but recently President Obama revealed his strategy to introduce high-speed rail to the nation. His plan included a list of 10 top projects. On his list was a Midwest line that would link Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and the Twin Cities to other major Midwestern cities. Many politicians believe supporting such an idea will not only relieve congested highways and airways but also help by supplying a much-needed boost to the slumping economy.
Of course, many people still question the whole idea of a high-speed rail. After all, when many people are struggling to make ends meet, should we be investing in such big fancy rail systems? The answer is yes, we should. There are a myriad of reasons suggesting that high-speed rail will not only help to boost the economy, but also aid in easing the current strains on the environment. The Environmental Law and Policy Center estimates that ""high-speed trains in the Midwest would be three times as energy efficient as cars and six times as energy efficient as planes."" A rail line would also decrease our reliance on cars and consumption of oil, as these rails would instead run on electricity.
The benefits high-speed rail may be able to provide are just as important as the advantages it has relating to the environment. It would not only create new jobs, but also increase the mobility of Wisconsinites in need of jobs, allowing them to extend their reach into major metropolitan areas. Gov. Jim Doyle, a major proponent of high-speed rail, also hopes to fund many, if not all, of the major rail lines in Wisconsin with federal stimulus money, easing much of the initial rail costs off of Wisconsin taxpayers. Governor Doyle has already offered several proposals for a rail in Wisconsin, and plans to utilize it to the fullest extent to alleviate the ailing Wisconsin economy.
However, there are and should be some reservations expressed about some of Doyle's rail expansion plans. A line from Milwaukee to Madison will likely be used often enough by commuters to sustain itself and avoid becoming another money pit, and the same can probably be said about another line running from Madison to St. Paul. However, Governor Doyle has also expressed wishes to build a line from Milwaukee to Green Bay, which is estimated to cost roughly $421 million. Now, I am no economics major, but that is an awful lot of money to be spent connecting Milwaukee to a city of approximately 100,000 people. Sure, there are other towns the line would stop at, but let us get serious here: There is simply no way that line would be able to pay for itself. It would suck in tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars in maintenance and upkeep costs a year and is simply an impractical notion to even entertain in a time of economic recession.
In the end, high-speed rail would be a smart choice as a connector to some of the major cities in the Midwest. The benefits provided to both the economy and environment are enough of a cause to support the idea. Really, the only caveat is that we cannot be completely unrestrained in where we set up tracks and need to carefully gauge economic and population growth factors to ensure that the rails can continue to pay for themselves in the future. Other than that, high-speed rails should be a welcome, yet overdue addition to the nation.
Ryan Dashek is a junior majoring in biology. We welcome your feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
